A pastoral letter directs the faithful toward 2028 Eucharistic Congress with some concrete recommendations.
In preparation for the 2028 International Eucharistic Congress in Sydney, Archbishop Anthony Fisher, OP, issued a brief pastoral letter to the faithful of the archdiocese.
Released for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi and titled “Adoring the Eucharistic Lord: ‘Let Us Kneel Before the God Who Made Us,’” the letter invites the entire archdiocese into a deeper encounter with Christ truly present in the Eucharist.
Archbishop Fisher reflects on the wonder of God sharing His divine life with us. In this intimate exchange, the Blessed Trinity draws near, moving our hearts, strengthening us, converting us, and consoling us. “He shapes our character,” the archbishop writes, “gracing us to be more and to do more than we could ever alone.”
Because God became flesh, our relationship with Him is not only spiritual but profoundly bodily. We are not disembodied spirits; we are incarnate beings called to worship with our whole person. “The liturgical life is one that engages the whole person through all the senses,” Archbishop Fisher explains. We see sacred art and actions, hear the Word of God proclaimed, touch the holy water, taste the Eucharist, smell the incense, and move our bodies in reverence — standing, sitting, bowing, and kneeling.
Of all these postures, kneeling speaks most clearly of our faith. While acknowledging that postures can have cultural dimensions, Archbishop Fisher notes that kneeling has held a cherished place in Western Christian prayer for centuries. He recalls the words of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Tantum Ergo, sung at Benediction: where our senses and intellect fail before so great a mystery, “faith and our very bodies must supply by bending our knees.”
Practical steps
As Australia prepares to welcome the International Eucharistic Congress, the archbishop urges concrete steps to foster a more vibrant Eucharistic culture. He encourages the faithful to attend Mass more regularly and devoutly, to observe the Eucharistic fast, to make a good Confession, to offer heartfelt thanksgiving after receiving Communion, and to spend time in Eucharistic Adoration, Benediction, and processions. Above all, he asks Catholics to carry the grace they receive outward: “Reflect on how you might enact and share what you have received at the Eucharist with the world outside.”
Addressing his priests, Archbishop Fisher asks them to generously extend church opening hours — a desire expressed at the recent Sydney Synod — and to offer at least one Holy Hour each week in their parishes. He also calls for the restoration of kneelers where they may be missing, and for gentle catechesis on the Church’s liturgical postures, so that the faithful may live them both in public worship and in their personal prayer.
The pastoral letter closes with a powerful reminder that adoration and mission are inseparable. We kneel in awe, thanksgiving, and supplication — but God does not leave us there. He raises us up and sends us forth.
Archbishop Fisher points to Scripture: Isaiah, who knelt before the throne of God and answered, “Here I am, Lord, send me” (Isa 6:8); Peter, who fell to his knees and was commissioned to “catch men” (Lk 5:10); the disciples at Emmaus, who recognized the Lord in the Breaking of the Bread and immediately set out to proclaim Him; and the apostles at the Ascension, who worshiped on their knees before rising to “make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19).
“We kneel to recognise Him and then we rise to make Him known,” Archbishop Fisher concludes. “Eucharistic prayer and a Eucharistic life are inextricably linked.”
This Corpus Christi message offers timely spiritual nourishment not only for the Archdiocese of Sydney but for all Catholics seeking a more profound, reverent, and missionary encounter with the Lord in the Eucharist.
